What Could Have Been
by PaperMuffin
Summary: This is Fireheart's story as you've never heard it before: what could have happened if Tigerclaw had been successful in killing Bluestar. Rated T for any later violence or gore that could come in the near future, just to be safe.
1. Accusation

So this was what ThunderClan had been reduced to... a large, squirming mass of yowling cats, their furious growls and piercing yowls of pain ringing out through the forest...

Fireheart fought against this mass with all of his might. His eyes scanned the clearing in panic, looking for the bluish-gray fur that was so familiar to him. He pushed his way through painfully slowly. He could barely hear, the blood was pumping in his ears so loudly; the shrieking of the mass around him was muffled, like he had stuck his head underwater, but the sharpness of their claws ripping through his pelt wasn't. The cats around him were in complete chaos; some ThunderClan cats were even attacking each other in the confusion. He twisted and clawed at one cat, kicked at another.

The sudden weight of another cat crashed down on him, and he felt his knees buckle. He struggled to keep his footing, and it was only when the rouge started clawing at his legs that he realized what the other cat was trying to do; knock him off his feet to be trampled under the squirming group of cats. He pushed up with all his might, but the other tom was at least twice as large as he was, and he felt his legs starting to give way under the pressure.

The weight of the cat vanished suddenly, unbalancing him and nearly finishing what the rouge had started. His head whipped up in time to see Graystripe plow into the rouge. His friend called to him over his shoulder.

"Go on, I'll deal with him!" Fireheart nodded in gratitude, taking advantage of a brief gap in the battle to sprint through the rest of the way.

Fireheart still hadn't found Bluestar, and was about to leap onto the Highrock to better search for her when he heard the she-cat's furious yowl, followed by Tigerclaw's deeper voice, coming from the direction of…

Bluestar's den! Fireheart's eyes widened. If he had Bluestar trapped in her den, it would be nearly impossible for her to escape; she would have to fight, and risk her last life.

"I'm coming Bluestar." He streaked the rest of the way but froze just outside the entrance at a painful howl from his leader. He shook his head to snap himself back to the situation at hand. With one final breath, he pushed his way through the curtain of fronds…

---

Graystripe was just talking to StarClan when the rouges started retreating, leaving as suddenly as they had come. In seconds the ThunderClan camp was deserted of any rouges, but the destruction they left in their wake was seen everywhere; even the nursery and elders' den was almost completely destroyed, and the warriors' den was unrecognizable, looking like a pile of broken firewood.

Graystripe shuddered and turned away, looking for any sign of his flame-colored friend. His eyes rested on Cinderpaw, who was busy putting cobwebs on the cats' worst scratches. He limped over to her.

"Cinderpaw!" She glanced up at him.

"I'm busy right now, you'll have to wait." He could barely understand her through the bunch of cobwebs in her mouth.

"No, that's not it. Have you seen Fire-?"

Tigerclaw's yowl interrupted him. "Cats of ThunderClan! You have all fought well against the invading rouges, but it is my greatest regret to tell you how much we really sacrificed…" he trailed off here, a look of sadness on his face that Graystripe was sure was entirely fabricated. He looked up again, composing himself again.

"Cats of ThunderClan, it is my greatest regret to inform you… that our noble leader, Bluestar… is dead!"

Shocked gasps filled the clearing. Cats looked around at each other, as if to ask if it was really true.

But Tigerclaw wasn't finished there. He cleared his throat, effectively earning the attention of every cat in the camp. "And not only that! Bluestar has not, as you may believe, been killed by a rouge… She has been killed by a cat you all know, a cat she, sadly, trusted with her life, one she took in, trained, and made a warrior! Bluestar has been murdered… by none other than Fireheart!"

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Ah! Cliffhangers! It's what keeps readers interested! ^-^

Do you see that little review button down there? Well, I'll tell you a secret... pushing it makes stories come faster, no lie!


	2. Exile

Every cat's eyes widened so much that they threatened to pop out of their heads. At that time, Fireheart walked out of the leader's den.

He looked awful, Graystripe thought. He was splotched with what looked like blood from head to paws; his eyes were dull and blank, the usual fire extinguished; and he seemed to have gone into shock, not looking as though he even noticed all the eyes on him.

A sudden outburst of questions and accusations rang out from the cats below.

"Fireheart! It's not _true?!_"

"Traitor! Murderer!"

"No! There's just no way!"

"_Silence!_"

At Tigerclaw's yowl, a hush fell over the camp.

"How do you defend yourself, kitty pet?" Darkstripe called.

Everyone looked to Fireheart, who was still staring at the ground like he hadn't heard them.

Tigerclaw spoke up, "As I am not yet leader, I will let the clan decide the next course of action… What will be his punishment?"

"Exile him!" called Darkstripe, sneering at Fireheart. Half the Clan yowled in agreement, while the other half shook their heads, refusing to believe that Fireheart would do such a thing.

Tigerclaw got the merest hint of a smug look on his face before he set his features to a blank expression.

"Very well. Fireheart, for murder and your traitorous actions, you are hereby banished from the forest. If, by dawn, you are not gone, any patrol that finds you have my full permission to execute you."

Fireheart finally lifted his head and gave Tigerclaw such a look of hatred, Graystripe was surprised the dark tom didn't burst into flames where he stood - though Graystripe wouldn't complain if he did.

Fireheart stood up and hopped down from Highrock, and Graystripe and Sandstorm stood up, determined to follow; but Fireheart shook his head at them firmly. Graystripe hesitated before tapping Sandstorm on the shoulder and sitting down, shoulders hunched. Sandstorm reluctantly followed suit.

Graystripe felt his heart sink as he watched his best friend pad slowly out of the camp, holding his head high and acting as though he couldn't hear the insults following him. However, when he got to the entrance, Fireheart turned back and shot him a quick look before disappearing into the forest.

For a long moment, Graystripe and Sandstorm sat staring at the entrance, while the rest of the Clan slowly dispersed, some laughing and making rude remarks, some tapping them on the shoulder and murmuring their respects in undertones; it didn't seem to be safe to say them any louder than that anymore.

Soon, they were the only two still in the clearing. When the last patrol went out, Graystripe nudged Sandstorm and motioned to a secluded spot just outside of camp. She nodded and they snuck out, making sure they weren't being followed.

Graystripe didn't say anything along the way; he was thinking about that last look Fireheart had given him. He knew what that look meant; "I need to talk to you as soon as possible." Fireheart wanted him to sneak out tonight, and Sandstorm was coming with him.


	3. Meeting

**Meeting**

Fireheart crouched in the bushes outside the spot behind the nursery that was perfect for sneaking out of camp. His tail twitched impatiently. He was at a huge risk sticking around here, where he was clearly no longer welcome. Every noise in the bush seemed like a patrol sneaking up on him, and the trees had never seemed so unfriendly.

Eventually, he spotted movement in the brambles lining the ThunderClan camp. He tensed, ready to run, but relaxed slightly when Graystripe's head peaked through, followed by his body and, to Fireheart's surprise, Sandstorm. Graystripe crawled to him in something resembling a hunting crouch, and Sandstorm followed, though she looked more dignified.

"Fireheart?" He winced at Graystripe's whisper, twitching his tail to get his friend's attention. Graystripe hesitated only a moment before sprinting over to join Fireheart, once again followed by Sandstorm.

"Why did you leave?" Graystripe got right to the point.

"In case you didn't notice, I got exiled by _Tigerstar_."

"Wrong." Fireheart and Graystripe looked at Sandstorm in confusion. "You got exiled by Tiger_claw_."

A flicker of hope leapt up in his chest before he could stop it. "Because he hasn't gone to the Moonstone yet… Do you know when he's going?"

"Not yet; but I'll find out."

Graystripe turned to Fireheart, looking anxious. "What will we do when he does go to the Moonstone? We couldn't just overthrow him; he'll have eight extra lives!"

"And we don't even know who's with and against him."

Fireheart considered this for a minute. "I think that's what we should do first… Find out who's on our side," he added when Sandstorm and Graystripe looked confused. "Graystripe, do you think you could find out?" Graystripe nodded.

"I'll try to find out when Tigerclaw will be going to the Moonstone," Sandstorm added. Fireheart nodded.

"I'll be staying at Twolegplace, in Smudge's garden. Do you think you can find out in a week?" They both nodded. "Alright. I'll go see Ravenpaw and Barley; I'm fairly sure they'll help."

"Um, I have dawn patrol today. I should be at camp when it's time…"

"Alright, Graystripe. We'll meet at Twolegplace in a quartermoon. Until then…"

Graystripe and Sandstorm nodded solemnly.

Fireheart stood up and watched them disappear into the ThunderClan camp sadly before turning around and heading off in the direction of Twolegplace, keeping to the shadows, feeling alien to the forest that had been home only hours before.

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Hey, guys! I'd like to pause here and give a sappy little speech about how much I love my reviewers... I'd like to, but my brain is currently broken from getting ready for vacation. I won't be back until 7/19/09, and I'll try my very hardest to have a new chapter for you awesome people, but first I need to use my vacation as a means of escape from the rut I'm in... Something's damming up the creative juices in my brain and repelling the plot bunnies. 'Tis sad... *sniff*

Any-who, I'd like to thank you all over again for _reviewing_(*wink**wink*), and bid you ado!=3

3


	4. Recruitment

**Recruitment**

The black cat crouched in the shadows, relishing the smell of hay floating around the barn. Another step, then another… just one more…

_Bam!_ The sudden crash made him whip his head to the right. He turned back to his prey just in time to see its bald tail disappear into a crack in the wall, and hissed under his breath. A low moan followed, however, and proved to be an excellent distraction from his lost prey. Ears flicking curiously, he padded to the wall it had come from, but stopped short when Barley's words floated through his mind.

…_Let's just say, I'm not the most… _popular_… cat around here. Many are jealous that I got to this barn before them, and it didn't help when I let you start living here…_

He shuddered, feeling sick. What if it was one of those "jealous cats"? What would happen if he went out there? Would they rip him to shreds before he had time to defend himself? He was so out of practice too… _would_ he be able to defend himself?

By the time he heard the moan again, he had painted a picture of a cat, as big as a horse, with razor sharp claws, waiting for him.

He took a deep breath. _Ok, Ravenpaw, get a grip. There's. Nothing. Out. There. Nothing, ok? Just… just calm down._

He took a brave step forward, thinking that this felt more like a funeral procession than simply answering the door. **[1]**

_There we go, you're doing fine… yes, just one more step. Now take another… very good!_

_Is it egotistical to praise yourself?_ he mused humorously.

He took another deep breath when he was about three mouse lengths from the door, and…

Started hyperventilating. **[2]**

Did he have a glitch in his brain or something? What in StarClan's name was wrong with him?! Was he really that much of a coward?

Nodding his head decisively, he slipped out of the barn before he could think about what he was doing and back out…

And screamed at what he saw.

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**[1]** Any suggestions for changing "the door" to "gaping hole in the side of a barn"?

**[2]**Can cats hyperventilate, you ask? Well, they can in my world! xD

Thanks for taking some time out of your busy lives to read this most-likely-the-most-revolting-thing-you've-ever-read story. Feel free to go puke in the corner.

Sorry for taking so long to update. I just now finally got out of my writer's block. I went to the doctor, but he just doesn't understand...

Anywho, I'm still running short on ideas, so if you have one, please, do tell. =D

And about the review button... no. I'm not saying anything. There's no way I'm asking for reviews again(no matter how I _LOVE_ them so...)

Look out for more chapters, because I have no idea how I'm going to end this... Alright, alright! I'm shutting up now! Sheesh! . (Holy crow! This has got to be my longest load of meaningless words yet! O.e)


	5. Announcement

**Sorry for the super long delay guys. I've been studying for midterms the past month. x.x I may or may not continue this story. I've run out of ideas, so don't expect anything anytime soon. Sorry guys. But if you have any ideas for me, just send me a message. You could save this story! :)**


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